Had A Moment…

Sorry I have been a neglectful blogger…we were busy over MLK holiday (kids had 3 days off)and getting back in to the school routine was draining to say the least. Then this past weekend we lost our last precious four legged friend. Bonnie our sweet cat had been with us for 14 years and we said a very sad, sudden, unexpected good-bye. Not ready to talk about that yet. We march on though so here’s the update…

I’ll wrap up the Colorado trip updates by saying we so enjoyed our time visiting my parents, visiting, playing and just being together.  I so enjoy that my kids know Grama Linda and Grampa Mike are and love them despite being miles and miles away. I look forward to seeing them more in the future and so hope that some changes we have made will make that more financially feasible.

I am trying to make an effort to cook at home more this year! After recovering from the small heart attack I had after looking at the staggering figure Quicken spit out at the end of the year for our dinning out expenses I decided to make a more concision effort to eat at home. So tonight I am cooking my second sit down dinner this week, and the kids ate at home last night too! Tonight’s menu chicken pie, mashed potatoes, corn and bread…can you say starch city…this here is my problem…4 people in the family, 3 very picky eaters and me. And when I say very picky eaters I mean VERY picky eaters! What is a mom on the run supposed to do when no one will eat the same thing, or anything with actual flavor? I make 3 different meals each time and still no one seems happy…poo on you family! Seriously though if you have suggestions please share!

That’s my vent for the day…oh I have more but for your sanity I will not share because really who tunes in just to hear me rant?

Vaca Recap Part IIII

Arapaho Basin Ski Resort…being sea level kids at 13,000 feet we signed both kids up for a half day “first time skier” class, thinking they would have had enough by lunch. They started out walking on “carpeted” snow, practicing little side-by-side steps. They were having such a blast!

Then they moved on to basic sliding and stopping, sometimes stopping was a little harder…

Meanwhile…dad made a few runs on his snowboard and mom wore a path at the bottom of the hill…

At lunch time the kids said they were SO excited and loved it SO much they wanted to stay longer…so we let them! With the extra time they hit the real hills, the magic carpet lift, their first chair lift, turning, stopping, accidental fence encounters, and un-assisted trips down the hill.

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After a full day skiing we stopped for one last look at the continental divide at Loveland Pass, 11,990 feet above sea level!

Next time our final recap and back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Vaca Recap Part III

Day four’s adventure was a first for 3 of us! Snow mobiling in Summit County! We got up early, headed up I-70 towards Breckenridge. Admittedly Mom was a bit nervous having never driven anything remotely close to a snowmobile. We left on a guided tour up to the continental divide, despite grumbles from mom. The kids loved the scenery and riding the fast cold snowmobiles. I focused on driving, making sure I didn’t get lost, and that the kids had a good time!

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We all had fun, I won the “slowpoke of the year” award hands down! Ella liked riding with me because I was slower and less bumpy :)

After our mountain top trip, we went down to Breckenridge checked out the shops, got some lunch and check out the kids first “Asprin” tree. You see back in my day, my father had me fully convinced that if you rubbed your finger on an Aspen tree and got white stuff on your finger, then licked it would cure your headache!  So I carried on the tradition, didn’t work so well since my kids have no idea what Asprin is!

Vaca Recap Part II

Big adventure two was a quick trip up to Red Rocks and then down to the capital. We intended to see the dinosaur foot prints but alas the mountain hike up there was not in the cards for our tired, sea level kiddos. So they “climbed a mountain” and “explored a cave” at Red Rocks and got a chance to see the view of the Denver skyline, smog and all.

 

Then we zipped into downtown Denver, saw the big buildings, the 16th Street Mall, homeless people, protesters, the capital and other government buildings. The kids were amazed and awed by the size of everything. To quote Dylan, “It’s like New York City!” Not that he knows what New York City is like either…

 

Vaca Recap Part I

So after our travel day we spent a quiet day recouping at my parents house and then we were off for the kids first big Colorado adventure! Though both of my kids were born in the city of Denver neither remember…I on the other hand had grown up there, spent time there as an adult and found it incredibly odd to view what I consider “my” city through the eyes of a tourist. The hubby asked me what we should do there and I came up with nothing…couldn’t think of one single thing to do…so super dad to the rescue he came up with a whole list…our first stop…

Rocky Mountain National Park!

We spotted coyotes (no pictures of those they were too fast), elk,

deer (again no pics), big horn sheep,

children in the wild,

and snow cover mountains and rocks!

So from Rocky Mountain National Park my children and I wished everyone a happy new year! Make sure you get up early to see animals, we left Denver by 5:30 (but earlier is even better), walk lightly, talk quietly and remember to soak in all the majesty that is one of the most beautiful places on earth!

  

Tomorrow the capital and a few red rocks!

Fly Away!

 ”This is the best day of my life” – Dylan

 ”I think I can see God from up here”-Dylan above the clouds

“AWESOME!!”-Ella

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N!

Heading out tomorrow…may be blog silent for a while don’t worry I will recap once we get back!

Christmas 2011

Christmas started at 6:00am with the pitter-patter of little feet and squeals of delight as the kids rounded the corner and saw what Santa had left under the tree! In my husbands family Santa does not wrap gifts…I am torn should Santa wrap or not wrap? Kind of bummed to not see the delight on their face as they get those gifts. Then they open gifts from us, each other, and grand parents from around the country.

After presents, stockings, and breakfast we head to Shane’s grandparents house for round 2. We celebrate with his Dad, and 30 others when you count all the cousins,  siblings, kids, aunts and uncles. We ate, shared gifts and enjoyed our holiday together for a few hours.

 

Then we were on to Christmas number 3 at Shane’s moms house. We met with a slightly smaller crowd but still plenty of people to eat, drink and be merry with!

After the ride home, a phone call to Colorado the kids hit the bed like a big log! By the end of the night 14 hours after it had all began my office looked like a Toys R Us exploded, the kids were tired beyond belief  and we were all happy to be together and have celebrated the  season as a family. We thank God for his gifts to us no matter what form they come in.

Christmas Eve 2011

We kept Christmas eve low key staying home cooking and spending time together. The kids were tucked into bed by 9:30 to make sure they would have stamina for the marathon that is our Christmas day. Prior to bed we did the traditional cookies for Santa and Reindeer Food…

 

Then we had to say our good byes to Chippy…our fun crazy Elf on a Shelf . If you are unfamiliar with Elf on a Shelf, he is our personal elf sent from Santa. He keeps watch over the kids each day and flies back to report to Santa each night. The kids are not allowed to touch him or he will  loose his magic. When he comes back each morning he lands in a new spot. The kids were excited each morning to find his new spot…one day he was hanging from our count down paper chain, in the fire place, in the bathroom, and even eating the kids candy. The elf  leaves with Santa on Christmas eve and returns again the next year. I don’t know how many years we will get out of Chippy but alas he sure was fun and useful this year!

So that was our Christmas eve low key and quiet more on Christmas later !

Post Christmas Haze

Well Christmas has come and gone and now I am staggering into the next big adventure in our life. We head to visit Colorado in 3 days ! We will spend a week there visiting the land I came from. Although both of my children were born in Denver, neither remember it as we have not visited in 6 years. We surprised them with the trip as their big present for Christmas. After Dylan’s initial disappointment over the loss of his perfect attendance he has become very excited about seeing Grandma and Grandpa and all the sights we have talked about for so many years. I am in a mad rush to de-decorate, shop, organize and figure out how to cram a weeks worth of winter gear into carry-on bags to avoid extra costs. We shall see how that goes… Christmas post to come…